Funds will be applied to the Badger Flats habitat restoration project

The Colorado Mountain Club has received a $2,500 conservation grant from outdoor retailer REI that will help restore damaged wildlife habitat in the Badger Flats area of Pike National Forest.

The REI funding will support volunteer projects to help inventory, close and rehabilitate non-official trails in Pike National Forest. More than 200 miles of user-created routes in the area, known as Badger Flats, are disrupting the habitat of elk, deer and bighorn sheep.

REI supports community stewardship projects nationwide to encourage the active conservation of nature and inspire the responsible use of the outdoors.

The CMC will host five weekend stewardship events between May and October 2014 to aid in repairing the damage to natural resources. During this time, volunteers will contribute more than 350 hours of work to document user-created trails, install signs and assemble natural barriers to deter illegal use. Badger Flats is less than 50 miles from downtown Colorado Springs, near Lake George, Colo., in Pike National Forest.

The CMC will host a variety of volunteer events throughout the state in 2014. Projects include trail construction, campsite rehabilitation, habitat restoration and route inventory in popular areas frequented by hikers, backpackers, equestrians and mountain bikers. The CMC engaged nearly 500 volunteers and facilitated more than 4,700 hours of service work in 2013.

For more information about the CMC’s stewardship efforts, please visit www.cmc.org/conservation

Logo courtesy Colorado Mountain Club